What is Reality?
by Dtxlife
Summary: What is reality? Are the events that we perceive truth or merely figments of our imagination? Entire lives could be lived in seconds and seconds could be lived in years. The true question. What is real? What is make believe?


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

"Harry, my boy. It is good of you to visit an old man in his office," chortled an elderly man.

"Professor Dumbledore. I have told you countless times that this is not your office. The world that you live in is a fabrication of your mind," replied Doctor Potter, calmly.

"But of course you are probably here to see my phoenix, Fawkes. He will be able to take you anywhere you desire with his Fire Travel," continued Dumbledore, gesturing to a pillow.

"Sir. Phoenixes do not exist. When you are able to let go of the illusions, _we_ will help you travel from this place."

The old man did not seem to hear the doctor and began stroking the pillow lovingly. Happiness seemed to light up in his blue eyes and his body began to sway ever so slightly to an ethereal tune.

"Ah. The Phoenix Song. Beauty that words can never describe. It is a shame that most wizards disregard music and art because of magic. Quite a number of muggles do not seem to have this sort of problem from my time in their society."

The doctor closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh.

"Sir. Your daughter and son-in-law have come to visit you. They are in the lobby waiting for you."

The peaceful look instantly disappeared from Dumbledore's eyes and was replaced by a mixture of deep regret and pity. He lifted the pillow and placed it on his shoulder.

"I see. Tom has stooped so low as to capture my Transfiguration teacher out from under my nose. Thank you for not running off to deal with this yourself Harry. The both of us should be able to stop him before he is able to hurt her."

Doctor Potter shook his head slightly and gently eased the elder man to the hallway. The pair quietly walked to the common lobby with the exception of Dumbledore's soft humming.

"Father!" exclaimed a middle aged woman, wrapping her arms around the old man's body. The pillow fell to the ground.

"Minerva, I am glad that Fawkes was able to rescue you from Tom's grasp. It is good fortune that he was likely distracted from you," said Dumbledore with a kind smile.

"Dad. Are you still going on with the whole Lord Voldemort and Death Eaters and Magic thing?" asked a middle aged man as he walked up to the group.

"Tom, I am sorry that I failed you. Leave Harry and Minerva out of this. I will fight you. It is my fault that this has come to pass and I will fix my mistakes," spoke the elderly man with conviction.

"Father! Tom and I have been married for years. Why must you do this? Why must you let yourself succumb to these illusions?" cried Minerva.

"It's my fault dear. If we had not gotten into that fight then maybe he would be alright now," muttered Tom dejectedly as he wrapped his wife in a close hug.

"No. It's not your fault. Father could not handle the pain after Mother died. The signs were always there, but Mother was always able to help him," comforted Minerva.

"Minerva, you are under the Imperius curse. Come to your senses. Tom is using you to keep himself safe!" cried Dumbledore brandishing a Twizzler.

Doctor Potter expertly removed the offending candy and motioned the old man to a nearby seat. Without a word, the doctor handed Dumbledore a yellow hard candy who promptly placed it in his mouth.

"Harry, is there any hope that my father will be able to beat this?" asked Minerva, tears glistening.

"I truly do not know. It pains me to see him like this as well," said Doctor Potter, shaking his head.

"You were his prized pupil, correct?" queried Tom.

"He was my favorite professor. He treated me as if I was his own son and even brought me to Christmas dinner with the entire family. The moment he heard that I had nowhere to go, he insisted that I join his family," recalled Harry sadly.

"Ah. Your first Christmas was marvelous. Wasn't it Harry? The feast was utterly delightful. The House Elves truly outdid themselves that year. I was also able to leave you your father's Invisibility Cloak to aid you in any mischief that I was sure that you would meet. Alas, I had hoped that you could have had a normal carefree life in school without Voldemort's attacks."

"He did give me a cloak that Christmas," remarked Harry, chuckling slightly. "It was the first Christmas present I had ever been given. My Aunt and Uncle were never terribly fond of me or flashy holidays."

"Another mistake on my part Harry. I should have never left you with the Dursleys all those years ago. Minerva had warned me about them after spying on them with her Animagus form. I should have listened," spoke Dumbledore, closing his eyes as a tear trickled down his face.

"Father, you could not have taken Harry away from his relatives and you know that. You argued with Mother for hours about trying to adopt him," said Minerva, placing a hand in her father's palm

"Professor, you did more than you should have. You allowed me into your family and helped to pay the tuition for University. I owe you more than anything for what you have done for me and so help me God, I will help you in your time of need," swore Doctor Harry James Potter.

"Honey. Tell Dad your good news," reminded Tom.

"Of course. Father, little Severus spoke his first word today. Your grandson said 'Albus' this morning."

"Ah. Young Severus. Another person that I have failed in my time here at Hogwarts. I turned a blind eye to the bullying that he received from the Slytherin House and the Gryffindor House. The lad had no place else to turn when he took the Dark Mark from Voldemort. I am happy that he became willing to spy for me and renounce the Dark Lord."

"Father, I truly hope that one day you'll be able to see your grandson in your right mind."

"I just must pray that Voldemort never discovers his treachery and decides to punish him for it. I fear that Tom will personally torture the man until insanity sets."

"Dad, please listen to what your saying. I would never hurt my son. I love my family more than life itself and if anything ever threatened them I would be there," pleaded Tom.

"Tom, how were you able to penetrate the wards? No doubt you used your influence as Slytherin's heir to force Hogwarts to allow you here," yelled Dumbledore, drawing eyes from around the room.

Doctor Potter motioned to a few of the orderlies and prepared a syringe in case things became a little rough.

"Father, please calm down. Tom has not done anything wrong," cried Minerva.

"Professor, restrain yourself. I don't want to have you taken back to your room," advised Harry.

"Polyjuice! That is the only way that you could have Harry aiding you Tom. He is resistant to the Imperius and would never willingly give into you. Fawkes! Help me!" bellowed Dumbledore as he ran to the pillow on the floor.

"Dad, for the love of God. Get a hold of yourself. That is just a pillow. It's not some crazy mythical bird," said Tom, pointing at the pillow.

"The Killing Curse, _Avada Kedavra_. You have sunk low by momentarily killing my phoenix so I can not escape. Fine. If it is a fight that you want, it will be a fight that you get!" exclaimed the old man, tossing a nearby chair at Tom.

The orderlies quickly sprang into action and restrained Dumbledore. With a practiced ease they encased the man in a straight jacket as Doctor Potter quickly sedated the old man. The professor's body went limp and he soon stopped struggling against his holders.

Dumbledore blearily looked around the room as he slowly fell into the realms of unconsciousness and thought, 'I am sorry. I have failed you all. Forgive me in the afterlife.'


End file.
